People with this disorder cannot voluntarily move their eyes in all directions. This disorder occurs because the brain is sending and receiving faulty information through the nerves that control eye movement.

The nerves themselves are healthy, and there is no true nerve paralysis (because a full range of eye movements can happen involuntarily).

Patients who have this problem may have a degenerative disorder that affects the way the brain controls movement called progressive supranuclear palsy. In other cases, a brain injury (such as stroke) can result in various types of supranuclear ophthalmoplegia.